SUNA Spotlight: Todd Morningstar

 

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Last year’s Great Lakes SUNA Member of the Year Todd Morningstar, LPN, says he joined SUNA against his will.

 

OK, so it wasn’t exactly against his will, but it took some friendly nudging and peer pressure from a well-known SUNA advocate.

 

“I used to work with the local chapter president (Susanne Quallich) and she beat me up until I joined.” Todd laughed. “Anything to shut her up. But I’m glad that I did join.”

 

Todd, who may hold the distinction of having the most unique last name in the Great Lakes chapter, currently toils at the Ann Arbor (Mich.) Veterans Medical Center as a care manager in urology. He previously spent 13 years with the State of Michigan Mental Health and Department of Corrections.

 

Making the jump to urology from mental health, Todd was reluctant at first, but looking back, he says it was a smart decision.

 

“They closed the mental health unit where I was working and I was offered a job in urology,” remembers Todd. “I started here in 1995 and I’ve been here ever since and loved every minute of it.”

 

He earned his LPN license from Oakland Community College in 1976.

 

Now a member-at-large on the Great Lakes SUNA Board of Directors, Todd has presented at the last two spring conferences

 

“Being a member (of SUNA) provided a lot of insight and learning activities in the field of urology,” says Todd. “There is a wealth of information at the dinner meetings and talking with others in the field.”

 

Todd has been married to Kari for 15 years and the happy couple has eight kids, well, sort of.

 

“All of our kids have four legs and a tail,” smiles Todd. “We have eight dogs and do a lot of activities with the dogs. We do agility, flyball and disc. I'm also a North American Flyball Association judge and have been on the NAFA board the last five years.

 

“Between work and my personal life, things have never been better.”